New York – The Board of Directors of the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc. a, nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization is pleased to inform that final preparations are being completed for The Garifuna Reunion in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on July 18th – 23rd

According to the Board of Directors,although the global financial crisis has had an impact on the expected number of participants, a Garifuna contingent will be traveling to St Vincent and the Grenadines on July 18th and final preparations are being completed in conjunction the Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit (RIDU) Office of the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines to ensure that we have a full appreciation of our homeland, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (Yurumein).

As descendants from shipwrecked Africans who sought refuge in mainland St. Vincent and intermarried with the Caribs and Arawaks, the Garifunas or Black Caribs, are part of the unique cultures and melting pot of ethnicities that have their roots in the Caribbean . 212 years ago, everybody wondered if the Garifunas were going to survive as a people and live a long healthy life. Two years after the paramount Garifuna Chief Joseph Chatoyer was killed on March 14, 1795, the Garifuna people were exiled from their native land of St Vincent (Yurumein!) to the island of Roatán, off the coast of Honduras from where they dispersed along the Atlantic coast of Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Nicaragua.

“This will be a historic event as we journey back to our homeland, Yurumein! Said Rejil Solis, president of the Garifuna Coalition USA, Inc.